The present invention relates to a new distinct variety of Straw Daisy plant, botanically known as Bracteantha bracteata and hereinafter referred to by the variety name ‘Helisbrabic.’
The new Bracteantha resulted from open-pollination of a proprietary selection of Bracteantha bracteata identified as ‘B541-1’ as the seed parent and a proprietary selection of Bracteantha bracteata identified as ‘C3185-1’ as the pollen parent. ‘B541-1’ has bigger flowers, bigger foliage, and a deeper pink color compared to the new Bracteantha. ‘C3185-1’ is less branching, is less floriferous, and has lighter green foliage compared to the new Bracteantha. Seed of this combination was harvested in 2002 and the new variety ‘Helisbrabic’ was selected in 2003 as one of the plants of this population. Breeder's code of the new plant is ‘E0247-2.’
This new plant is an annual. The new variety is a product of a planned breeding program conducted in Enkhuizen, The Netherlands. The new cultivar ‘Helisbrabic’ is heat tolerant, compact, and flowers throughout the summer. ‘Helisbrabic’ is sexually reproduced by cuttings for 3 years now and trialled under different conditions in Europe. It has retained its distinctive characteristics through successive propagation and is firmly fixed. The new variety reproduces true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.